Illinois Air Quality by City
Illinois has 27 cities with an air-quality page, from Chicago (8,609,571 people) on down. Each page leads with the live AQI, the main pollutant driving it, and a go/no-go for outdoor exercise on the EPA scale.
Cities in Illinois
| City | Typical AQI (county median, 2025) | Population |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago | 53 Moderate | 8,609,571 |
| Rockford | 40 Good | 271,411 |
| Round Lake Beach | 39 Good | 264,501 |
| Peoria | 45 Good | 255,063 |
| Aurora | 45 Good | 179,898 |
| Springfield | 41 Good | 157,178 |
| Champaign | 43 Good | 153,687 |
| Naperville | 42 Good | 150,692 |
| Joliet | 44 Good | 150,445 |
| Bloomington | 44 Good | 135,296 |
| Palatine | 53 Moderate | 66,293 |
| Lombard | 42 Good | 43,619 |
| Buffalo Grove | 39 Good | 42,891 |
| Carol Stream | 42 Good | 39,460 |
| Glendale Heights | 42 Good | 32,808 |
| Gurnee | 39 Good | 30,510 |
| Wilmette | 53 Moderate | 27,503 |
| Woodstock | 42 Good | 26,147 |
| Lake Zurich | 39 Good | 19,832 |
| Shorewood | 44 Good | 18,343 |
| Hampshire | 45 Good | 8,524 |
| Lincolnshire | 39 Good | 7,980 |
| West Dundee | 45 Good | 7,906 |
| Burnham | 53 Moderate | 3,937 |
| Lake Catherine | 39 Good | 968 |
| Lake Carroll | No EPA monitor | 853 |
| Standard | No EPA monitor | 250 |
Our dataset lists 1,456 places in Illinois; the 27 above have a page. For a smaller town, the nearest city above is the closest match.